Echoes of the Past
by Matsuo Hotaru
Summary: This is part 3 (Naraku's Curse, Kagome's Reborn Strength Part 1, The Life of a Demoness Miko Part 2) Youko had been sent a dagger with the blood of his newborn son and his mate Kagome. Kuronue died in a heist gone wrong and Youko lost his body and went to Ningenkai to find a new body to inhabit. The past is back, rearing its ugly head but some endings are meant to be happy..
1. Chapter 1

So, here is the final story. You all know what happens to Youko if you watched YUYU Hakusho. His 'mother' brings him back to his senses after her selfless act. Any questions from the previous stories you can contact me. I don't plan on updating every day and I only ever came up with half of the story, not the full thing. I will be adding on to different parts of episodes that have Kurama and bring up Yoko's past. I hope you enjoy this story.

_**Echoes of the past**_

Chains rattled across the floor in the dark, musty room. Labored breathing could be heard, their pants coming in puffs of air. It had been so long since they had seen the light, had the comfort of their loved ones or even ate a decent meal. Their captivity wore on their instincts and mind like it would to any caged fox. Their fear grew stronger every time _food_ was delivered and she still had no savior. She could only feel a large barrier in the area. The chains were heavy but had no magic; they needed none since she wore a necklace that sealed her powers in until her mate released them. She felt horrible, she really did but her hope in being saved was vanishing and she had a feeling the birth of her child is the deadline.

She hated it but she knew she is weak. They could get rid of the chains and she still couldn't escape, the food was minimal and not at all nutritional. This was worse than her time in the pits of Makai, it wasn't because of the darkness, but because of being chained and shoved in a small room that she was sure had mold growing in it. The conditions were far from what a pregnant woman should be in and the contractions she felt were coming faster and last longer. She knew they were not Braxton hicks. Her eyes welled with tears as her misery, pain, and fear assaulted her mind, telling her time was almost up. She would be weaker and still unable to use her powers without the necklace gone. They never told her their plans but she couldn't help but feel that once they notice she is in labor or birthed the child it would be game over.

Unless someone showed up in the next few hours she stood no chance. She could only pray that they might not be around today and she could gain some strength back if she doesn't die in labor. Maybe she could heal fast enough to kill them with her claws and fangs. The chances were slim but if she could keep her labor a secret long enough to give birth and recover then she just might be able to get them out of there.

She grit her teeth as another contraction hit her, her eyes firmly shut as waited for it to pass over. Then she felt wet and knew her water broke. She could smell the fluids and hoped no one else was around to detect it. The screeching of chairs in a room down a ways had her fears racing at the front of her mind. She isn't alone, the demons were still there and they smelled the change. Tears streamed as her body forced her to start pushing. Talking could be heard for a while but she never could understand what they were saying. She let out a deep breath and pushed at the same time.

She pushed and several minutes went by, trying as hard as possible to be quiet and not make too much noise, hoping they might think she just urinated or something. She leaned against the wall with her shoulders and kept pushing as silently and felt for the head in between the contractions. She felt the head come out and pushed a couple more times, trying her best to keep her baby's head off the flower with her tail. She almost had the baby all the way out when the footsteps approached the room. Her fear flooded all of her senses as light streamed through as they door screeched open. She grabbed what she scented was her son and clutched him to her chest, his wails coming out and his mother's distress making him scream louder as she was unable to comfort him the way he wished.

Light bounced off the metal as she watched grins stretch across their faces. "The time is here boys; we can finally send Youko in celebration of his son being born. Why don't we make sure we get their scent to go with it?" Their nods in agreement and anxious stares as they approached the final few steps had the realization that this was it. Her eyes bled red, fangs and claws lengthened as her growl came forth. This was supposed to be a day of happiness for them and these demons planned to murder them. Their laughs and scents of excitement gave her the power to weekly stand up hold her baby to her chest with her left arm. Her clawed right hand took aim at the nearest one but it never hit as another one kicked her in the ribs. She stumbled and did her best to remain upright until another punched her in the face and she fell backwards, head bouncing off the wall with a crack. Everything spun a little and the telltale feeling of blood oozing down your neck could be felt. They kicked her several times including the head and she tried to roll over to keep them from hurting her newborn son but she felt her hair being tugged and the back of her head connected with the cement.

"Enough! It's time to finish things!" The one in charge said as a wicked gleam came to his eyes. Her arms trembled and she heard the wails of her son as tears escaped both of their eyes. Her mind supplied an image of her mate the last time she saw him as she replayed that entire day in fast forward, ending with her screams and his ferocious growls echoing through the forest. The light caught the dagger as he raised it to the air and it brought her back to the present. She tried to rise up but felt the other two demons stomp on her shoulders. The dagger made its descend, blood squirted up and just like that the wails ended, the dagger embedded in her child's head and straight to her heart. Tears flooded her eyes and a pained gasp escaped her lips as she felt the dagger pull out. Her baby was dead. This was the end of the line and she failed to save her son. The demon chuckled and listened to her heart beat slow. He pulled a cloth out of his pocket and wrapped the dagger in it before handing it to the demon to left with instructions to drop it off at the hideout for Youko to find.

She barely registered the kick that sent her lying on her side, eyes wide open in horror as tears streamed down her face and the world grew dark. Her grip staying around her son as she was filled with regret and longing of the life she thought they would have. She knew they would not send them her body, not wanting them to have any chance of bringing them back to life. Her ears drooped along with her eyelids as she spit up blood in her last few pained breaths. The light in her eyes faded and the blood stopped pumping out. They didn't bother closing the door and left her and her baby's bodies to go cold. The building emptied and the smell of death increased.

That was a painful chapter to write. To think I spent 3 pages typing of his birth and their deaths.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews Tempest78 and ShadowFoxDemon.

_**Echoes of the Past**_

No one ever forgot the scent of their murderers; they couldn't allow it for they still needed get vengeance on their deaths. Kurama had tried to forget but the bitterness he felt ate him alive until he was even less merciful but after several years going by and trapped inside the body of a human boy, his eyes finally softened for one person in his life, his human mother. Shiori had put her wellbeing on the line and he could never forget that selfless act. Sure, she had done others but this one spoke volumes and try as he might, he couldn't help how comforting her motherly aura felt. One day he got to thinking about how much she sometimes reminded him of his deceased mate and the thought struck him, right now his mate is alive, young, but alive.

The shrines in town were going to be holding a festival and he remembered her full name was Higurashi Kagome and came from a family owned shrine, the Higurashi Shrine. He asked his mom if they could visit that one and with a puzzled look she agreed. He was anxious to see her but it also hurt, she wouldn't know him and didn't know of demons but she was still a little girl and perhaps being in the knew it would open himself to the pain but he couldn't go without seeing her and knowing her as a child.

The day of the festival came and he tried to hurry his mom in his excitement, something he wasn't known to doing so it once again had her giving him a funny look but decided she liked seeing him acting like his age. He nearly raced up the shrine steps as he got closer to her home. As they finally reached the stairs he couldn't help but notice the ancient tree standing proudly, towering over the other structures and plant life. His ears picked up an old man's voice as he told the tale of the shikon jewel. His eyes instantly turned and he followed the pull as he looked at the bauble until a disgruntled huff caught his ears. Up by the older man was a young girl with a white and pink kimono with falling sakura petals. He knew it was the one he has been searching, it was his Kagome, and sitting impatiently to the tale of the jewel with no clue as to just how much her life will be tangled up with it. He could barely feel it but knew the pull of the shikon was inside her.

That day he watched her play and even played with her, quietly imprinting her image and actions to memory. She was _adorable_ as a little girl and her whole manner screamed _innocent_ and _pure_ even more so than the other children even at her young age. He was happy to see her but it still hurt to know that once she grows up and turns into a demon, she will no longer be able to cross back to here. If she didn't have that fight with Naraku that turned her into a kitsune then she would have never met him. Fate loved his mate too much if you asked him and it hurt to know how she had been rewarded. Miroku had once said it was a way of the Gods to call their angel home but they also took his son with her. His son, merely an infant but killed in cold blood.

His mind drove him insane several years ago; constantly supply what they might have done to her, how they probably tortured her and what her labor was like. He wondered if she still held hope all the way to the end or if she gave up along the way, somehow knowing this was the end. He was certain she would have at least put up a fight to save their son but then again, did she have any fight left in her physically. It had his head spinning and nightmares flashed before his eyes no matter if he was wide awake or in the midst of slumber. It hurt but what hurt the worst was not knowing and never finding them. He had failed and he _never_ failed until that day when she was ripped from his side by a demon with the same element control. He vowed though, that he will find the ones who killed and he will find out what they did with their bodies.

The day progressed and it definitely brought back his determination to one day find the ones responsible for their deaths and show them no mercy. Many times he wished he could have joined her but he knew that the spirit world would not have had him anywhere near his loved ones with the record he had, so he knew that staying alive for now was the best choice and maybe he could someday clear his record so when death visited him, he would be taken back to his family.

Years went by and he occasionally went to the Higurashi Shrine but did his best to not draw her attention to him too much. His looks though, must not have helped for he drew her attention unintentionally like a moth to a flame. Her curiosity was almost equal to a kit but it didn't shock him for long. He told her things about him and his mom, they talked about nature and played together. Eventually they grew older and he began to watch from the shadows in their early teens. Then it all happened and reality reared its ugly head when Kagome was plunged into the Feudal Era. It was like a buck of ice water dumped over his head and knew it wouldn't be long and she would be gone from his grasp for good.

His own life grew hectic as he got tangled up with the Spirit World and had to serve his time. It hurt to know time was almost up but he supposed watching her one last time would be worth it, and then he would focus on getting stronger and seeking vengeance. At the tournaments though, when he got sent back to his original form as Youko, he wondered if he could find a way to send him back to that day and find a clue or jump through the portal before it closed. To gain something that would help him change what happened or alert him to the demon the kidnapped Kagome. After many experiments he could find nothing and knew his only other possibility would be the well. Right now though, he wouldn't have enough time tinker with it and especially not till she goes down there for the last time, never to return. Until his time was served, he couldn't tamper with the well knowing he was being watched.

He watched her go and somehow he it would be the last time she would go through the well. She looked so similar to how she was before the transformation. He wished he could stop her but he knew he would risk never having her if he even delayed her by a minute. So with a heavy heart and a resolve of steel he watched her jump down the well with her smiling face engrained in his mind. That day he moped around at the shrine, the day after he set off for another mission, his determination still strong.

ShadowFoxDemon, you should know your review inspired me to get this chapter out there so I can get to the chapter I know you will want to see.


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